In the 90s of the last century, the book “4 Blood Types - 4 Paths to Health” was published in the United States, written by naturopathy doctor Peter D’Adamo.It almost immediately became a bestseller, was translated into almost every language in the world and became a practical nutrition guide for many people on the planet.According to the author of the book, for each blood group there is a historically correct concept of nutrition, and human health and longevity depend on this.
The main idea of this theory is that people should eat the same food as their ancestors.It is better digested and absorbed, while “wrong” foods clog the body.This nutritional concept is not a weight loss diet, but involves healthy and healthy eating for certain groups of people, which will help cleanse and heal the body.
In fact, some studies have shown that people with different blood types are more or less susceptible to different diseases.For a long time, Dr. D’Adamo, together with his father, identified the effects of various foods on the body, which is why they were divided into 3 groups: beneficial, harmful and neutral.Below are lists of “good” and “bad” foods for people with each blood type.Products not listed are considered neutral and recommended for consumption in limited quantities.
Nutrition for people with blood group I(0)
According to various sources, up to 40% of the world's population has blood from this group;Dr. D'Adamo identified them as descendants of “hunters,” so a meat-based diet would be more appropriate for them.
Healthy Products
- beef, lamb, venison, veal, poultry, offal;
- almost all fish (cod, perch, pike, flounder, sturgeon, trout, sardines are especially useful), caviar, seaweed;
- eggs;
- in small quantities cottage cheese and sheep's cheese, cottage cheese;
- butter;
- some vegetable oils (olive, linseed, sesame, almond);
- walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin and cedar seeds;
- rarely legumes (with the exception of soybeans and lentils);
- buckwheat, pearl barley, barley cereals, rice;
- rye bread;
- vegetables (beetroot and its leaves, cabbage, horseradish, artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, broccoli, kohlrabi, turnips, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips, bell peppers and peppers);
- almost all fruits and berries;
- parsley, ginger, cloves, licorice, saffron, curry, pepper;
- herbal and green tea, red wines, mineral water (can be carbonated).
Harmful products
- pork;
- pollock, shellfish, squid;
- almost all dairy products, except those listed as permitted;
- sunflower, corn, cottonseed, peanuts, coconut, palm oil;
- poppy, pistachio, peanut, cashew nut, Brazil nut;
- wheat, oats, barley, corn and any products derived from them;
- vegetables (cauliflower, cucumber, leek, rhubarb, potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, olives);
- avocado, orange and tangerine, melon, strawberry, coconut;
- strong alcoholic drinks, lemonade, beer, black tea, coffee.
Nutrition for people with blood group II(A)
Almost 35% of the world's population inherited group II from their parents;in fact, this is the most common blood type among Europeans.The creator of this diet classified these people as descendants of farmers and gatherers.Their diet is very similar to that of an ovolacto vegetarian.
Healthy Products
- turkey (preferred) and other poultry;
- eggs;
- fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, pike, whitefish, carp, cod, perch, trout, char);
- fermented milk products, whole milk - only goat's milk, cheeses also made only from it;
- vegetable oils (olive, linseed);
- peanuts, pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts, hazelnuts and other nuts;
- legumes, soy products are especially useful;
- cereals (buckwheat, rice, barley, oats, rye) and flour products made from these grains;
- soy sauce, parsley, turmeric, ginger, mustard;
- vegetables (the healthy list included artichokes, beets, Jerusalem artichokes, broccoli, kale, carrots, kohlrabi, horseradish, garlic, onions, turnips, pumpkin, turnips, spinach);
- all berries, lemons, grapefruits, pineapples, plums, apricots;
- any herbal teas, green tea, white (preferably) and red wine, black coffee (1 cup per day).
Harmful products
- any red meat and offal;
- shellfish, squid, eel, catfish, flounder, etc.;
- whole cow's milk and products based on it;
- butter;
- corn, cottonseed, peanuts, coconut oil;
- pistachio, Brazil nut;
- wheat, wheat flour and derived products;
- potatoes, white, red and Chinese cabbage, pepper, eggplant, olives, rhubarb, tomatoes;
- some fruits (banana, melon, orange, mango, papaya, tangerine, coconut);
- gelatin, vinegar, pepper (black, white, red), capers;
- sweets, sugar;
- strong alcoholic and carbonated drinks, beer, lemonade, black tea.
Nutrition for people with blood group III (B)
It is believed that this blood type arose as a result of mixing races.Doctor D'Adamo classified gifted people as nomads.They are expected to have the broadest and most varied diet;there are fewer dietary restrictions for people with blood group III than for other people.This is explained by the fact that nomads settled on different continents and were omnivores.
Healthy Products
- mutton, lamb, deer, rabbit;
- eggs;
- caviar, croaker, sea bass, pike, sardines, cod, flounder, haddock, hake, flounder, mackerel, pike, sturgeon, carp;
- almost all dairy products;
- navy beans and lima beans;
- oil;
- nuts;
- oats and oats, corn, rice;
- beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, onions, horseradish, turnips, parsnips, garlic;
- cranberries, plums, watermelon, banana, grapes, papaya, blueberries, blackberries, cherries;
- mushrooms;
- curry, licorice, ginger, parsley;
- still water, green tea, beer, red and white wine, black tea and coffee (you cannot drink more than 1 cup per day).
Harmful products
- poultry, pork, offal;
- shellfish, crab, beluga, eel, pollock, trout, char;
- quail eggs;
- blue and processed cheeses;
- other varieties of beans;soy products;
- vegetable oils: coconut, corn, peanut, soy, sesame, sunflower, rapeseed;
- cashew nuts, peanuts, pine nuts, poppy seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds;
- wheat cereals, buckwheat, corn, rye;
- olives, radishes, radishes, rhubarb, tomatoes, sauerkraut;
- avocado, pomegranate, persimmon, melon, coconut;
- pepper, cinnamon, soy sauce, gelatin, ketchup;
- carbonated and strong alcoholic drinks, lemonade, sparkling water.
Nutrition for people with blood group IV (AB)
This blood type is the rarest, found in only 7% of people who inhabit our planet.This group of people was defined by the naturopathic doctor D’Adamo as a mixed type or “new people”.Just like those with blood group III, the “new people” had much better luck with their diet than the population with groups I and II.
Healthy Products
- lamb, rabbit, turkey;
- chicken eggs;
- mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna, cod, pike perch, pike, sturgeon;
- dairy products, but cheese in limited quantities;
- nuts and olive oil;
- peanuts, walnuts;
- lentils, soybeans, beans;
- corn, oats, rice, rye flour and derived products;
- beets, broccoli, cauliflower and kale, cucumber, garlic, sweet potatoes, carrots, eggplant, turnips, mustard greens, tomatoes;
- cherry, fig, grape, grapefruit, kiwi, pineapple, plum, watermelon, lemon, currant, cranberry;
- curry, saffron, ginger, parsley;
- green tea, sparkling water, white and red wines.
Harmful products
- pork, beef, chicken, goose, quail eggs;
- sole, perch, beluga, halibut, haddock, hake, eel, trout, arthropods and molluscs;
- butter, margarine;
- processed cheese, blue cheese, whole milk, cream;
- lima beans, black beans, adzuki beans, chickpeas;
- hazelnuts, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds;
- buckwheat, corn, wheat and products made from these grains;
- artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, olives, peppers and hot peppers, radishes, radishes, rhubarb;
- sunflower, corn, sesame, coconut, cottonseed oils;
- avocado, banana, melon, guava, persimmon, pomegranate, quince, coconut, mango, orange;
- pepper, vinegar;
- strong alcoholic and sweet carbonated drinks, black tea and coffee.
Criticisms of the American Blood Type Diet
The opinions of traditional medicine doctors about this diet are divided, but the majority still tend to believe that it is not scientifically substantiated and has no evidence base.Perhaps its only advantage is that from the list of products for people with different blood groups it is possible, with some effort, to create a complete and balanced diet.However, completely avoiding certain foods can still lead to a depletion of certain substances in the body.For example, people in group I are almost completely prohibited from consuming dairy products, and this can lead to calcium and phosphorus deficiency.
Many doctors agree that the blood type diet is too general and does not take into account the individual characteristics of the body, lifestyle and other factors that do not depend on a person's blood type.Also, as you know, there are many more blood groups than 4;D’Adamo took one of the most simplified systems (AB0) as a basis for developing his diet.
Initially, medical textbooks used the term “amino acids” when talking about protein products.The protein in its original form does not enter the blood;it is first broken down into amino acids.But the body, in fact, does not care from which proteins, vegetable or animal, these amino acids are obtained, and therefore it turns out to be inappropriate to limit dairy and meat products for some categories of people.After this fact was pointed out to the author of the diet, the term “amino acids” was replaced by “lectins”, which is not clear to many doctors, much less to the average person.In general, many traditional medicine doctors tend to believe that the book presenting this diet is “overloaded” with scientific terms, many of which are inappropriate and incomprehensible to readers.
Summing up, we can say that the blood type nutrition system did not find a response in the medical community and was even the subject of serious criticism, but the large number of positive reviews about this diet has a logical explanation.First of all, this is due to the general improvement in the diet, as strong alcohol, carbonated soft drinks, fatty meat, many “heavy” vegetables, foods rich in saturated fats and other harmful foods are completely removed from the diet, regardless of blood type.Furthermore, one of the important factors in the positive effects of any popular diet is the placebo effect, and the development of the American doctor D’Adamo is no exception.